The other day I came across about a 5" dia. spruce blow down on one of our trails. I always carry a folding saw and thought no problem I'll just get it out and have it gone. Well as we have been using mainly our battery powered chainsaws for trail work I guess I hadn't used it for awhile and I forgot what a POS it was. Ok for up to 2" dia. but a total workout for the one that I had run into. I persevered and got the job done but decided it was time for a better pack saw.
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I went for the econo full star review version on Amazon and it didn't disappoint. Way more aggressive tooth profile as well as a wider set. Still have to pay attention to how you attack the cut to avoid pinching but that cut above took me less than 30 secs up to that point whereas my other saw would have taken 3 minutes and some blue air....So I am calling my new purchase a success and got all the other blowdowns cleared as well. It has been very windy here of late.
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On my second folding saw. I’ll try not to cut any rocks with it.
I’ve been looking at the Milwaukee cordless chainsaw lately. Maybe some day.
I’m use to larger Stihl saws (032, 066 and 084) but I was impressed with this little guy. It did the job. Diameter of this log was about 22” Douglas Fir…and very hairy. 6-8” knots. View attachment 102959 View attachment 102960 View attachment 102961 View attachment 102962 View attachment 102963 View attachment 102964 View attachment 102965 View attachment 102966
There are three types of trees in this area. Fir, Hemlock and Red Cedar. Definitely not a cedar. A hemlock has specific bark and a specific smell when it’s cut.That's not a Douglas Fir, the bark is wrong, the saw chips are too white (Doug Fir is quite orange-looking) and it has too much branching for the size of the trunk.
About 20+ years ago I had to decide quickly (during a video game signup, falcon 4?) on a handle. StihlDawg would have been too cheesy. So I went with Stihldog instead …another cheesy handle lol.Your handle is "Stihldog" and you don't have a chainsaw?
O.K. then, I love my gas Stihl's for bigger stuff but the tiny Milwaulkee M12 Fuel cordless chainsaw is the ticket for light trailwork. For it's size and weight it packs a punch and, perhaps more importantly, the batteries last a long time. I'm sure they say it is dangerous, but I use it one-handed all the time (just watch what you are doing). The brushless motor is considerably more efficient than cheaper small cordless saws and the trigger is variable speed. The secret to the long battery life, besides the efficient motor and controller is the short bar. Don't run more chain than you need because chains have a lot of drag. This is the mighty-mini I'm talking about:
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Mine is older and has plastic "bucking spikes" (if you can call them that on a saw this small) but it sounds like they have upgraded them to metal. The thing runs a long time on a tiny battery and has surprising power for its diminutive size.
I bought a DeWalt 20V MAX XR with a 12" bar, but it pretty much sucks batteries and lacks cutting power/speed considering the much larger heavier battery I use with it.
Your handle is "Stihldog" and you don't have a chainsaw?
O.K. then, I love my gas Stihl's for bigger stuff but the tiny Milwaulkee M12 Fuel cordless chainsaw is the ticket for light trailwork. For it's size and weight it packs a punch and, perhaps more importantly, the batteries last a long time. I'm sure they say it is dangerous, but I use it one-handed all the time (just watch what you are doing). The brushless motor is considerably more efficient than cheaper small cordless saws and the trigger is variable speed. The secret to the long battery life, besides the efficient motor and controller is the short bar. Don't run more chain than you need because chains have a lot of drag. This is the mighty-mini I'm talking about:
View attachment 117160
Mine is older and has plastic "bucking spikes" (if you can call them that on a saw this small) but it sounds like they have upgraded them to metal. The thing runs a long time on a tiny battery and has surprising power for its diminutive size.
I’m riding by this blowdown again today so I’ll try to take a picture of the stump. You’ve got me curious now. I’m ready to eat my words. My only excuse would be that it was friggen cold outside.That's not a Douglas Fir, the bark is wrong, the saw chips are too white (Doug Fir is quite orange-looking) and it has too much branching for the size of the trunk.
I was just looking at these, they offer a 15cm or 20cm bar option (6” or 8”). Do you think it would pull the 8” bar ok, or better to stick to the 6” and get a real saw out if I need to go bigger?
Warning: Lots of boring tree and chainsaw stuff follows, mostly unrelated to eMTB, don't read!I’m riding by this blowdown again today so I’ll try to take a picture of the stump. You’ve got me curious now. I’m ready to eat my words. My only excuse would be that it was friggen cold outside.
I have limited experience with battery-electric chainsaws, only the M12 Fuel mini-Milwaukee and the Dewalt 20V Max XR with a 12" bar. What I can say is the Milwaulkee impresses while the DeWalt does not. Not only does it not have the power or run-time I expected (and I have used it with various DeWalt batteries up to 10Ah), but the motor and chain do not have the smoothness I expected. I think it has a skip-tooth chain (at least the cutting teeth are not very dense) so that might be part of the problem, but the whole tool just feels cheap when using it. Yeah, it works, it just doesn't feel good.The smaller handheld battery operated saws are nice. 6”-8” Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee …I don’t know which one is better. I’m in the Milwaukee eco system for batteries so my tools can interchange. I just need a bigger 12amp battery for the chainsaw. (Bigger is better apparently ).
I don’t know how many Stihl chainsaws I’ve owned but I usually bought 2 new ones a year and kept the older ones as spares. So usually 6 saws at a time, 2 in each location. We got moved around by weather or priorities often so leaving our saws in the woods was fine. I did have one 084 Stihl and one smaller Stihl. Most of my time was as a company faller but if I went contract falling I was expected to provide my own tools. (Saw, wedges, axe, tools etc). Difference between a company faller and contract faller; more money as a contract faller … more safety as a company faller. Pick your poison.
Warning: More boring tree and chainsaw stuff follows, mostly unrelated to eMTB, don't read!Warning: Lots of boring tree and chainsaw stuff follows, mostly unrelated to eMTB, don't read!
Yeah, tree species are tricky without the cones and needles to go by. There are around 6 different recognized genetic varieties of Douglas Fir but, as far as I know, the differences are relatively minor, especially considering we live in the same part of the world. I've always known Douglas Fir Is not actually even a fir tree (it has pine cones), was always told it's in the pine family, but in recent years I learned it's actually a unique origin (that doesn't exist separately from "Douglas Fir") that probably is most closely related to pines millions of years ago. It's certainly a fascinating species the more one learns about it (and my favorite kind of wood for a multitude of purposes).
The bark is tricky to use to identify Douglas Fir because it morphs so much as the tree enters mid-age and there is quite a bit of variety in terms of how gnarled the bark is at different sizes. But I've never seen a DF that didn't have a pronounced orange color to the wood chips or one with such dense branching at that size. Also, there is something about the gradations of the growth rings that just screams "not Douglas Fir" but I can't really define what it is, just the "look". I'm talking about the appearance of each individual ring. I'm not enough of of an expert to even hazard a guess what specie I think it is, just that I would be shocked if it were a Doug Fir.
I have limited experience with battery-electric chainsaws, only the M12 Fuel mini-Milwaukee and the Dewalt 20V Max XR with a 12" bar. What I can say is the Milwaulkee impresses while the DeWalt does not. Not only does it not have the power or run-time I expected (and I have used it with various DeWalt batteries up to 10Ah), but the motor and chain do not have the smoothness I expected. I think it has a skip-tooth chain (at least the cutting teeth are not very dense) so that might be part of the problem, but the whole tool just feels cheap when using it. Yeah, it works, it just doesn't feel good.
I've never been a professional faller/logger but I've used a wide variety of small saws through my life, mostly firewood cutting and occasional storm cleanup and land maintenance. The first one I bought new was a Stihl 026 in 1996, a pro-grade 50cc saw that has performed admirably for 27 years doing a wide variety of work, often pulling a 18" or 20" bar while buried in Douglas Fir.
I probably should have bought another saw in the 60-70cc class but the little trooper pulled so well I just made do. I'm usually cutting in the National Forest, and I'm not allowed to cut standing timber or anything bigger than 36" in diameter, but I've never bothered to inquire if that measurement includes the bark or not. On a large Doug Fir it makes quite a difference. The thing has been run hot for hours on end bucking logs bigger than its class (I often have to figure out how to make an 18" bar reach the middle of the tree, cutting from both sides) and it just keeps on going. About the time it was starting to look well used, about 7 years into its life, it started singing harder than ever. It was in its sweet spot. Finally, two years ago I noticed it had slightly fallen off its peak and was cutting about the same as it did when it was new.
The only breakdown it's had was the fuel tank pickup hose failed and started sucking air. Replaced that for $15 and no problems since. I leave fuel in it year-round, most of it has 10% ethanol. It runs three bars depending, a 16", 18" or a 20" and always a full-house 3/8" chain without those pesky anti-kickback features. I always hand file the chains, prefer to do it in the woods rather than at home. Until recently, I have always mixed my own fuel mix at 50:1, making sure to not accidently hit 60:1, but never adding extra "for good measure". The last two or three years, now that time and smell is more important to me than money, I run the expensive Stihl pre-mix fuel. I LOVE the way the exhaust smells compared to gas station gas, and for the number of hours my saws run per year, the smell alone is worth it!
Three years ago, I decided I should have two saws and made an odd decision that I would repeat if I had to make the decision again. I bought another 50cc pro-grade Stihl, an odd decision for sure to not pick a different size but the 36" diameter limit, imposed by the Forest Service, meant I could always get 'er done with a 50cc saw and I just plain like a 10 lb. saw that's balanced in the hand. So now I have a MS 261 C-M (the "C-M" denotes the computerized version that adjusts the mix for altitude). I was a little skeptical of a saw with a computer in it since my old faithful MS 026 had worked so well for decades and I only twiddled the fuel/air mix screws every two or three years (whenever I thought I could get a little better performance out it) but I did occasionally adjust it when I was cutting above 3,000 feet and again when at lower altitudes, so I decided to risk the computer.
It's only been three years, but the MS 261 C-M has been flawless so far. I think I'm still breaking it in as it does seem to pull slightly harder as time goes on. It's about the same power as my 026 (and it weighs the same, within a couple of ounces). My 026 has a slightly higher chain speed and a little faster cutting in small cuts but I think the 261 has slightly more torque and, in big cuts it feels like it pulls harder. As close as I can tell it's a tie in terms of how much work I can get done per hour with either saw. The newer 261 does have noticeably better vibration dampening so I'm less likely to get "tingly nerves" at the end of a days cutting. I think I like the exhaust note of the 026 better when it's at full song but the 261 sounds pretty cool when the engine is loaded, with a deeper, slightly throatier sound.
The point here, is I can't figure out which one I like better! The old faithful that has been through a lot with me and has become like a beloved pet, or the one just starting its life. If push came to shove, I think I would be sadder if I lost the old saw, because I could just go out and buy a new 261 (and I would get the exact same saw), but the 026 is irreplaceable for all practical purposes. If you look at the used market for those saws, all you will find are highly abused examples, run by people who often didn't care or didn't know what they were doing. Most of them have been worked on by hack mechanics too. But life is good with two saws I love. Batteries would have to get pretty cheap and energy dense for me to abandon the kind of cost/power/weight ratio I can get out of these two beautiful saws. Which is odd because pure electric cars passed that point for me 5 years ago and they just keep getting better/cheaper! I think saws are behind the curve because the weight difference is not only more important with a handheld chainsaw, its also a bigger percentage of the total.
Well, that's my saw stories, I hope I didn't bore anyone too much!
Warning: More boring tree stuff!So I took more pics today as I stopped for a closer look. On my way up this morning I ran into a few fellow eMTB’er and told them about our conversation. They all know blowdown. One of the guys (Steve), is an active forestry engineer. He claims that it is definitely a fir.
The bark says it’s not a fir but when I bucked it the smell or fragrance was fir. The limbs are strong like a hemlock but extend out like a fir. The spacing of the growth rings can be tricky. I’ve seen thifty (wide) and tight growth rings. I think the environmental conditions will affect this (soil, water, wind, fire etc).
I never knew there were different varieties fir. I’ve only cut one type (I think). Never cut a live pine either. Most were rotten snags and probably dead for 1000’s of years. A pine snag almost killed me once …but that’s another weird story.
A piss fir? Another species I’m not familiar with …unless it’s just pulp.Looks like a piss fir.
Bjarne Butler is one of my favorite YT channels. Not sure why I really like old growth trees so much and live near a bunch in fact including the largest Sitka Spruce in the OR in their natural living state and get a kick out of seeing him throw his Husky around like it's that Milwaukee and knocking down huge timber easily and accurately while scrabbling all over the hillsides and riding in heli's every day.
I get the impression that Stihl Dog did the same thing and good on him for that. I grew up in a logging family in VT. and logged pulp, both hard and softwood, as well as saw and veneer logs. A friend of mine imported a small skyline cable yarder that he hooked onto a 60hp farm tractor and logged wetlands with it. I cut for him on several jobs. I was out in the woods and an old state forester came out and proclaimed that it looked like a horse job. I always wanted to do some steep terrain with it because that is where the goods were if you couldn't get to them with a skidder or dozer. I ended up moving out to the coast and commercial fished instead.
A piss fir? Another species I’m not familiar with …unless it’s just pulp.
Those Sitka Spruce can be friggen huge. I’ve never felled a big one like that. Not too many in our area either. (Northern Vancouver Island). But mid-island (Carmanah Valley, Port Albert) sits the tallest Sitka Spruce. I’ve never seen it and the location is secret. Only seen pictures but I’m sure there’s lots of cameras in the area.
Getting back to this subject awhile ago I ran across another mention of "piss fir" and the species listed was called a White Fir. The piss name relates to the smell as it is being cut. Very low on the BTU scale so not even good for firewood.A piss fir? Another species I’m not familiar with …unless it’s just pulp.
Those Sitka Spruce can be friggen huge. I’ve never felled a big one like that. Not too many in our area either. (Northern Vancouver Island). But mid-island (Carmanah Valley, Port Albert) sits the tallest Sitka Spruce. I’ve never seen it and the location is secret. Only seen pictures but I’m sure there’s lots of cameras in the area.
Yeah, this has me curious now. I’m gonna take a pic of the needles and maybe someone could identify it. Next week when I ride by. Smelt like a fir though and not a pissy smell. Hemlock can smell bad sometimes also.Getting back to this subject awhile ago I ran across another mention of "piss fir" and the species listed was called a White Fir. The piss name relates to the smell as it is being cut. Very low on the BTU scale so not even good for firewood.
Those limbs. 🫣
Spears of Destiny .....Those limbs. 🫣
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